Honors & Awards
- Fourth-Round Pick of Pittsburgh Steelers in 1995 NFL Draft
- Played in Super Bowl XXX with Pittsburgh Steelers
- First-Team All-Big Eight (AP, Coaches, 1994)
- Graduated with Degree in Business Administration (August, 1994)
- Nebraska Lifter-of-the-Year (1994)
- Nebraska Co-Lifter-of-the-Year (1993)
- Nebraska Football Hall of Fame Inductee (2007)
Senior
A four-year letterman and a starter on Nebraska's 1994 national championship team, Donta Jones earned first-team All-Big Eight honors as an outside linebacker as a senior. A two-time Nebraska Lifter-of-the-Year, Jones' hard work and dedication paid off when he was selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also appeared later that season in Super Bowl XXX as a linebacker for the Steelers.
Jones spent four seasons with the Steelers, before joining the Carolina Panthers in 1999. He was also a member of the New Orleans Saints in 2000. Jones continued his professional career as recently as 2006, but was not active on an NFL roster. He was chosen for induction into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
Jones closed his NU career by appearing in 39 games and recording 106 tackles, including 38 solo stops. He posted 16 tackles for loss (110 yards), including nine sacks for 84 yards lost. He also caused and recovered three fumbles, broke up three passes and posted an impressive 38 quarterback hurries in his career.
During his run to first-team All-Big Eight honors as a senior, Jones appeared in 12 games and posted a career-high 52 tackles from his outside linebacker spot. He notched 23 solo stops, including 10 tackles for loss (52 yards) and five sacks for 31 yards lost. He caused a fumble, broke up two passes and amassed 22 quarterback hurries as a senior.
In Nebraska's 24-17 Orange Bowl victory over Miami for the national championship, Jones recorded five total tackles, including two solos. He also had three quarterback hurries as the Blackshirts applied suffocating pressure on Hurricane quarterback Frank Costa throughout the night.
Junior
Jones started the 1993 season opener against North Texas at left outside linebacker, but sprained his right ankle and missed nearly all of the next three games. He returned to action against Oklahoma State, resuming his starting role, and started seven of the last eight games, including the Iowa State game at SAM linebacker.
The 6-2, 220-pounder finished his junior season with 25 tackles in 10 games, including one sack for 12 yards lost against Colorado. He caused a fumble and recovered two more, while also notching a pass breakup and 10 quarterback hurries. He had a season-high five tackles against Oklahoma, when he also recovered a fumble and returned it seven yards. In the 1994 Orange Bowl national championship game against Florida State, Jones started and had one assisted tackle.
Sophomore
As a sophomore in 1992, Jones played a major role as a backup on both ends to All-America outside linebackers Travis Hill and Trev Alberts. Despite acting as a reserve behind Hill on the left side and Alberts and David White on the right side, Jones played in every game and recorded 21 total tackles, including seven solos. He showed his big-play ability by posting four tackles for loss (37 yards), including two sacks for 32 yards lost. He added six quarterback hurries.
Against Oklahoma, Jones posted three tackles including a 25-yard sack when he caused and recovered a fumble on OU's last offensive play of the game. He added a sack in a win over Middle Tennessee State.
In the 1993 Orange Bowl, Jones established a career-high with five tackles, including two solo stops with one coming on a 14-yard sack of FSU quarterback Charlie Ward.
Redshirt Freshman
Jones saw action in six regular-season games as a redshirt freshman in 1991. He also appeared in the 1992 Orange Bowl against Miami while serving in a reserve role behind White and Alberts at outside linebacker. Jones posted eight tackles on the year, including a nine-yard sack against Colorado State. In the Orange Bowl, he added two tackles including a one-yard sack of Hurricane quarterback Gino Torretta.
Freshman
A scholarship recruit, Jones redshirted in his first season in Lincoln in 1990.
Before Nebraska (Pomfret McDonough High School)
An all-state and all-metro Washington D.C. selection, Jones was a two-way starter in high school. He caught seven passes as a tight end and recorded 15 quarterback sacks and 172 total tackles from his outside linebacker spot as a senior. He was named to the "Big 33" team for the August 1990 Maryland-Pennsylvania All-Star Game.
An excellent all-around athlete, Jones was also the starting center for the McDonough basketball team, averaging 10 points per game. He also had personal bests of 1:58 in the 800-meter run and 49 seconds in the 400-meter dash on the track.
Personal
The son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Jones, Donta was born Aug. 27, 1972. He graduated from Nebraska in August of 1994 with a degree in accounting and business administration. He was active in the Best of America School is Cool Jam and in National Education Week during his NU career.
Jones' Career Statistics
.
.
Tackles
.
.
Fum.
.
.
.
QB
Int.
Year
G/S
UT
AT
TT
TFL
Sacks
C-R
BK
PBU
PI
Hry.
Csd.
1990
Redshirt1991
6/0 2 6 8 1-9 1-9 0-0 0 0 0 0 01992
11/0
7
14
21
4-37
2-32
1-1
0
0
0
6
0
1993
10/8
6
19
25
1-12
1-12
1-2
0
1
0
10
0
1994
12/12
23
29
52
10-52
5-31
1-0
0
2
0
22
0
Totals
39/20
38
68
106
16-110
9-84
3-3
0
3
0
38
0
1992 Orange Bowl vs. Miami: Tackles, 2 UT, 0 AT, 2 TT, Sack 1-1
1993 Orange Bowl vs. Florida State: Tackles, 2 UT, 3 AT, 5 TT, Sack 1-14
1994 Orange Bowl vs. Florida State: Tackles, 0 UT, 1 AT, 1 TT
1995 Orange Bowl vs. Miami: Tackles, 2 UT, 3 AT, 5 TT, QB Hurries, 3
Single-Game Bests:
Tackles- 8 vs. Oklahoma, 1994
Solo Tackles- 6 vs. Oklahoma, 1994
Tackles For Loss- 2-12 vs. Oklahoma, 1994; 2-3 vs. Texas Tech, 1994
Sacks: 1, nine times in regular season, twice in bowls